Massive pile of junk battery`s at the back.
John.
I canāt tell either from the pic but itās a pretty safe bet given the brand. Lots of Amazon/Ebay āprotectedā cells donāt have any real protection circuit or even vents. They just copy the buzz-words in their product descriptions and inflate the mAh ratings to sell their 18650 pipe bombs. I have one thatās wrapped just like that in a fire proof safe that doesnāt seem so fire proof when the ignition source may be on the inside.
Have you THOROUGHLY vented out the room/area that this happened in? Lithium batteries out-gas hydrofluoric acid (HFA) which is extremely toxic even in small amounts. Inhaled HFA has no immediate side-effect or pain but you could have delayed onset symptoms days or weeks later. Florine toxicity is very serious and can have long-term or permanent consequences. I would stay out of that room and keep all windows open for a minimum of 24 hours, potentially get everyone out of the entire house, personally. Be on the lookout for any strange symptoms over the next couple weeks - this includes headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, mood changes, tinnitus, neuropathy, etc. If you have any symptoms, go to a doctor immediately and let them know you have been exposed to HFA.
That shape at the left end of the cell often indicates a PCB which is the protection circuit.
It probably doesnāt have an actual protection circuit, but clearly something is there.
Iām glad this turned out with a good ending Zebretta. :+1: ā¦ 
And I am sure you know it by nowā¦.
ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.but everything anyone needs to know about these batteries are contained in the picture you took.
The name & the mAh ratingā¦ā¦ā¦ 
āCrapFiresā are just thatā¦ā¦ā¦ crap. And no 18650 battery has that mAh ratingā¦ that is crap too.
.
.
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About the only thing I know of with āFireā in the name that can be trusted is āWindyFireā & I can only speak of their 14500 Red ones. Cause that is the only ones of those I have.
Glad you are ok.That is the most important thing. :+1:
I think we all know this and most would agree w/ this but I will repeat it!
The odds of that happening w/ a QUALITY battery[Samsung/Sanyo/LF/Sony/Panasonic] are a lot less.
I wouldnāt use a āPick ur Fireā battery if you paid me or gave me ones for free!
The Only āfireā I used is Windyfire IMR 14500 That HKJ reviewed.Besides the aforementioned, I never used a Surefire but that would be the only other āFireā that is a quality battery.
I still can not comprehend why someone would use these batteries just to save a few dollars when the performance is sub par and the risks of an accident increase. :person_facepalming:
The only fire batteries I trust is thorfire. The 5000mah 26650 tested out good. Good to about 10amps before major sag.
And from people on here unwrapping the 18650s they are a Samsung rewrap.
Iāve heard windyfire mentioned before but donāt have any experience with them
Its already in the ābrandā name FIRE
Be warned to keep away from that brands cells.
ā¦ I think Iām going to fully discharge all my Cytac (unknown cell) 2400 mAh and ditch themā¦ Sticking with Panasonic, Samsung and Sanyo onlyā¦
In the end at least you were there to notice the smell and move it. It maybe have been a old grade c rewrap. It didnāt go into thermal runaway. Which newer name brand cells wonāt do until about 450 degrees. Did it vent is there any residue by the top. I mean visually donāt touch if thereās residue I imagine is highly toxic
Edit,
Wanted to add if this was a protected cell it would have done the same thing because a protection circuit isnāt going to be able to stop a internally caused short. If its in a flashlight or charger its going between the circuits and the PCB can trip and cut the current. So donāt get a false security about protected cells. Just make sure the underlying cell is a name brand cell
I still have 4 X 18650 Cytac cells. HKJ reviewed them. Although the cell is Unknown he stated it acts just like a Panasonic and rated it a very good cell.
HKJ:These batteries uses a undisclosed cell, that works exactly like a Panasonic cell, i.e. it is very good.
I,Wolfdog1226 have no worries about them!
Interesting and cautionary.
I found this
Iād guess that most Li-ion cells sold are put in laptop computers or power tools, and I havenāt noticed stories of power tools burning houses down. Vape devices are almost certainly a bigger market than flashlights.
Very small Iād say, or weād hear a lot more about it, (considering laptops and power tools) but if you are the one in ten thousand per year (or whatever) and itās burned down your place, thatās not much comfort.
Iād guess that a part of this is that laptops and power tools use new cells and have protection circuitry, whereas *fire 10,000 mAh 18650 cells are clapped out, recovered rubbish. I think a part of that is that considering most users of flashlights, you can get away with palming off an originally 2,500 mAh, now 750 mAh cell, as OK, but that wouldnāt fly with vape devices, laptops or power tools.
The thing I find worrying was that it was just sitting there and decided to go off. You werenāt charging it or using it.
Actually this is a point of interest. HKJ tests performance of cells, but what do we know about how safe these cells are? For example, if we look at the 30Qās datasheet: https://www.nkon.nl/sk/k/30q.pdf
On pages 14-16 test results are shown for short circuit test, high temperature (140 degrees C) test, and impact test. And what do we know about the differences between a branded cell and an unbranded cell if you drop them on concrete? Of course donāt drop them in the first place, but is the branded cell safer in that respect?
So you see, since I donāt know the answer to these questions, at this moment I prefer to play it safe and stick with branded cells when possible.
I agree to use the Top 5 manufacturers as I mentioned in my first post in this thread.
As far as these Cytacs go I have had them 3 years,ā¦like I said I have no worries about them.It probably is a Panasonic cell or at least One that is of good quality like a Panny cell!
P.S. You did not include part of my post where I mentioned what HKJ said and you also left out his quote!!!
Here it is again!
HKJ:These batteries uses a undisclosed cell, that works exactly like a Panasonic cell, i.e. it is very good.
Yoiksā¦
Gotta say, the way that batteryās bulging, this is begging for a yootoob video of someone with a .50BMG putting a big big hole right through it to see what happens.
The number of people who donāt know better VASTLY outnumbers those who do. Thatās why so many are sold on ebay. I really didnāt know better until I came to these forums and started reading. Itās surprising there arenāt a lot more incidents. This really caught me by surprise. I hadnāt charged the battery, discharged it or anything recentlyā¦it was just sitting there and decided to go thermal all by itself. Scary is a good term.
Iām a believer now in taking extra precautions.
Yes correct, I should elaborate! Well the thing is that you have performance as in voltage sag, and the max amount of current you can run, and the max temperature it reaches. These parameters form the performance of the cell I think. And this is what HKJ tests.
Iām not too sure whether he means that a Panasonic cell is used in the Cytac, or whether the performance as described above is similar to a Panasonic. If the latter is the case, then I become weary regarding safety parameters as mentioned in my previous post. So basically, the question is what HKJ means with āthat works exactly like a Panasonic cellā. Is my reply ok?
THIS.
Iāve never had it happen so I find this a bit disturbing too. It could happen while sleeping. And that FHL thing mentioned aboveā¦wow.
Butā¦.itās not the first time Iāve ever smelled a burning odor and never found anything. Now I wonder if that could possibly have been a battery self terminating but didnāt go nuclear?
Thatās why I keep so few cells around. Think I only got 4 LK 26650s, a pair of protected panny-Bs, 8 30Qs, and a bunch of pulls from otherwise good power packs. Keeping more around is just like keeping gallon jugs of gasoline ājust in caseā. Probably wonāt go boom, but why up the odds by keeping more than you need?
If anything, I probably got way more of those power-packs than I need, too. Buncha ālipstickā ones, up to those 10AH donks the size of a fat wallet.
By the time I wear out any of those cellsā¦
No your reply is not ok!!! Your Sarcasm was weak! lol!
It is CLEAR what he said. The cell is Undisclosed and works exactly like a Panasonic cell.
The whole point of my original post is that HKJ feels it is a very good cell and in addition it has served me well.
I would be a LOT more concerned about a Trustfire/Ultrafire ect. than a Cytac cell.
We can analyze things forever,if your not comfortable with it ,fine,toss themā¦.I am comfortable with them so lets leave it at that!